SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir recorded a combined total of 3,558 minority beneficiaries under the Union Government’s Nai Udaan and Naya Savera schemes from their inception until their discontinuation in the financial year 2022–23. Of these, 1,228 candidates in the Union Territory received financial assistance under Nai Udaan after clearing preliminary examinations of UPSC, SSC and State Public Service Commissions, while 2,330 students were enrolled or trained under the Naya Savera free coaching initiative during the fifteen years from 2007–08 to 2022–23.
Data placed in the Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Minority Affairs shows that Jammu and Kashmir became one of the more substantial contributors to Nai Udaan’s national totals, particularly from 2017–18 onwards, when the number of successful preliminary candidates from the Union Territory began to rise sharply. The year 2021–22 alone saw 509 beneficiaries, the highest annual figure for the Union Territory under the scheme. The government has said that although Nai Udaan assisted only those who had cleared preliminary examinations, it did not maintain records of how many of these candidates eventually cleared final examinations of UPSC, SSC or State Public Service Commissions.
Jammu and Kashmir also featured consistently in the Naya Savera free coaching scheme. The earliest year for which allocations appear in the Union Territory is 2007–08, when 240 students were listed. The numbers rose intermittently thereafter, reaching 500 in 2011–12, 300 in 2014–15 and 490 in 2017–18. The government’s figures show that the Union Territory maintained a steady stream of allocations even in later years, with 50 students each year from 2018–19 through 2022–23. These coaching allocations covered preparation for a range of competitive examinations, including technical and professional entrance tests, and recruitment examinations for Group A, B and C services in Union and State governments, public sector undertakings, banks and railways.
Both schemes were formally discontinued from 2022–23 onwards as part of a restructuring exercise within the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Under Nai Udaan, financial assistance was transferred directly to successful candidates, whereas Naya Savera operated through a network of Project Implementing Agencies empanelled by the ministry. The government informed Parliament that the list of these implementing agencies remains publicly available on the ministry’s website, and that any changes, including cancellations or withdrawals of empanelment, are reflected there.
The ministry stated that both schemes formed part of earlier efforts to support minority candidates in competitive examinations and provide structured coaching support across States and Union Territories. The discontinuation, it said, coincides with a broader redesign of skill, education and competitive examination support mechanisms for minority communities.
